Firing Practice

Perry, Ohio

Jack was transported to Camp Perry, located just a few miles outside of Toledo, Ohio (Jack Nemerov, WWII Memoir). Jack and the other young men were kept terribly busy during their time there. Every day, they drilled, exercised, and completed the variety of assignments given to them. Within this time, Jack was made a drill instructor by his company commander, Captain Knox (Nemerov, WWII Memoir). About three weeks into their time at Camp Perry, the men were ordered out on a twenty-five-mile hike. Jack not only completed the trek but excelled, at the front of the line for the last five miles of the hike (Jack Nemerov, WWII Memoir).

Those who were able to finish the hike were issued their first real rifles, which were M1903 Enfields (Jack Nemerov, WWII Memoir). After spending a couple of days learning how to care for their rifle and dry firing, the men were taken out to the firing range and split into squads. The men took turns firing and working the pits. The following day, the recruits were given their classification tests. Jack tested into the top one percent for two areas: intelligence and mechanical aptitude (Jack Nemerov, WWII Memoir).

The most crucial duty the men were tasked with at Camp Perry was testing powder for heavy shells that would be used in artillery (Jack Nemerov, We Remember History Oral Interview). They would fire the shells out over Lake Erie. In total, Jack spent around four months at Camp Perry.

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